Framed Decisions

I am observing a meeting between Milhouse (one of my co-workers) and a salesman who is trying to sell an additional part to a machine that my company recently purchased. The salesman is well into his routine, and has already gotten my co-worker to admit that a quality product is of utmost importance to the future of the company. The salesman approaches the topic of price with great skill. "Although this investment may seem substantial at first glance," he admits, "with our extended payment plan, this part will cost you less than 40 cents a day. Why, that's less than a can of soda! Wouldn't you say the future success of your organization is worth more than a daily can of soda?" Having never thought of it in just that way, Milhouse decides to purchase the part. In order to prepare for future situations in which I have to make decisions such as these I go back to my office to evaluate the decision and in particular to 1) identify how Milhouse “framed” his decision, 2) Explain how an alternative “frame” could have resulted in a different decision outcome. What factors would lead to an alternative framework and 3) What are the implications of “framing” on our judgments and on our attempts to influence others? Are there moral considerations? Why or why not?

My Evaluation of the Decision

1) Even though my company has already purchases the machine the salesman was very determine to direct Milhouse’s focus onto the additional part that would be particularly important to the company’s future. When it came time to talk about the cost which was very high he compared the cost to a can of soda. This is called a contrast frame (Rhoads, 1997). If I was to choose soda can vs. future of company I would have chose the future of the company as well.

2) If the salesman would have compared losses and gains of purchasing the part the result would have been different. It all depends on how the question is asked (Rhoads, 1997). If it is positive then there is more likely going to be a positive result. Same as a negative question. Maybe questions for the salesman from Milhouse would have changed the outcome too. If the salesman did not have a routine such as this